New Delhi

Air India has grounded a Boeing 787-8 aircraft after a pilot flagged a potential issue related to the aircraft’s fuel control switch, the airline said on Sunday.

According to an Air India spokesperson, the concern raised by the pilot has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the aircraft has been taken out of service as a precautionary measure.

The airline said it is working closely with the aircraft’s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to examine the reported issue on an urgent basis.

“Following a report from one of our pilots regarding a possible anomaly in the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, the aircraft has been grounded. We are coordinating with the OEM to conduct priority checks, and the matter has been duly informed to the DGCA,” the spokesperson said.

The airline added that it had earlier inspected fuel control switches across its entire Boeing 787 fleet in compliance with a DGCA directive and found no irregularities at the time. “Passenger and crew safety remains our highest priority,” the spokesperson said.

The development comes against the backdrop of a tragic Air India Boeing 787-8 crash on June 12 last year, shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, in which 260 people lost their lives, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members and 19 individuals on the ground.

A preliminary probe into that accident indicated that moments before the aircraft lost thrust and crashed near the airport perimeter, one pilot questioned the other about a possible fuel cutoff to the engines, which the latter reportedly denied.

Investigators noted that both engines of the Dreamliner shut down within a second of each other soon after takeoff, leading to a rapid loss of altitude before the crash.

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Meanwhile, DGCA Director General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai had reiterated the regulator’s focus on strengthened safety oversight during a seminar in December, highlighting measures such as the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, the State Safety Programme, and the National Aviation Safety Plan for 2024–2028.